Enhancement of path quality of service in multi-hop packet communication networks

ABSTRACT

Techniques and systems for enhancing quality of service (QoS) in communication networks, including wired and wireless communication networks. Implementations of described techniques and systems can be used to provide path-based QoS with distributed per-hop scheduling for carrying traffic over a multi-hop packet communication network.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/210,973, filed on Sep. 15, 2008, which claims benefit ofpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/972,745, filed onSep. 14, 2007. The entire contents of the before-mentioned applicationsare incorporated by reference as part of the disclosure of thisapplication.

BACKGROUND

This document relates to quality of service (QoS) in communicationnetworks and systems, including wired and wireless communicationnetworks and systems.

Communication networks, wireless or wired, are networks of communicationnodes and operate to deliver information or data from one node toanother node. Such delivery is frequently accomplished by hoping throughone or more intermediate nodes in order to send the information or datafrom the sending node to the destination node. For a given path from thesending node via one or more intermediate nodes to the destination node,it can be technically challenge to ensure the quality of service (QoS)at the destination node due to various factors that affect the deliveryof the information or data. QoS can be characterized by various QoSparameters or metrics. Examples of QoS metrics include the time delaysin data transmission, jitters of the arrival times of the data packets,the number of dropped packets, errors in delivered data, andout-of-order delivery. Enhancing QoS and maintaining QoS at a certaindesired level are among the major issues in designing and deployingwired and wireless communication networks and various services throughsuch networks.

Wireless communication systems use a network of base stations tocommunicate with wireless devices registered for services in thesystems. The base stations, which conceptually locate at the center ofrespective cells of wireless radio coverage, transmit information torespective mobile stations (MSs) registered in the network, which arealso referred to as subscriber stations (SSs), via respective downlink(DL) radio signals sent out from the base stations. The mobile stationstransmit information to their serving base stations via uplink (UL)radio signals. Each base station emits radio signals that carry datasuch as voice data and other data content to wireless devices. Such asignal from a base station can include overhead load for variouscommunication management functions, including information to allow awireless device to identify a cell sector of a base station, tosynchronize signaling in time and frequency. Each wireless deviceprocesses such information in the overhead load of each received signalprior to processing of the data. OFDM and OFDMA systems are examples ofwireless communications and are based on orthogonality of frequencies ofmultiple subcarriers to achieve a number of technical advantages forwideband wireless communications, such as resistance to multipath fadingand interference.

The radio coverage of a wireless network of fixed base stations may belimited due to various factors. Certain structures in an intendedservice area may block the radio signals of one or more base stations.For example, a tall building may shield a particular area from the radiosignal from a base station, thus creating an undesired shadowing. At theedge of a radio cell, the signal strength can be weak and hence canincrease the error rate in the wireless communications. One approach tomitigating these and other limitations is to increase the number of basestations in a given service area. In one implementation under thisapproach, one or more relay stations (RSs) can be deployed among certainfixed base stations to relay communication signals between a subscriberstation and a base station, thus extending the coverage and improvingthe communication capacity and quality of the base station. A relaystation may be a fixed transceiver or a mobile transceiver stationdepending on the specific conditions for deploying such as relaystation. A subscriber station signal may hop through one or more RSsbefore reaching a serving base station. Multi-hop Relay (MR) modes canbe provided to use relay stations for enhanced coverage and service tosubscribers. For example, a multi-hop relay wireless network under IEEE802.16j includes MR base stations (MR-BSs) and relay stations (RSs).

Effective QoS mechanisms are desirable in such multi-hop relay networksand other multi-hop networks to provide high quality delivery of dataand services to subscribers.

SUMMARY

This document provides techniques and systems for enhancing quality ofservice (QoS) in communication networks, including wired and wirelesscommunication networks. Implementations of described techniques andsystems can be used to provide path-based QoS with distributed per-hopscheduling for carrying traffic over a multi-hop packet communicationnetwork.

In one aspect, a method for enhancing quality of service (QoS) in amulti-hop communication network under a distributed scheduling includesdetermining a unused portion of a delay in transmitting each of datapackets at nodes of a multi-hop path; attaching to the data packetsinformation on unused portions of delays in transmitting the datapackets obtained at one node to transmit both the data packets and theinformation on the unused portions of delays to the next downstream nodealong the multi-hop path; and scheduling transmission of the datapackets in the next downstream node further along the multi-hop pathbased on the unused portions of delays that are respectively associatedwith the data packets. The amount of delay for transmitting a datapacket is extended by a respective received unused portion of delayassociated with the data packet.

In another aspect, a multi-hop communication network for forwarding datapackets under a distributed scheduling includes communication nodeslinked to forward data packets from one node to another node under adistributed scheduling. In this network, each node includes data queuesthat receive and store data packets from a upstream node along amulti-hop path. Each data queue processes a received data packet toextract information on a unused portion of a per-hop quality of service(QoS) parameter indicating QoS of the multi-hop path. Each node alsoincludes a data packet scheduler that reads the information on eachunused portion of the per-hop QoS parameter, requests link resource fortransmission the data packets in the data queues, schedules transmissionof the data packets based on availability of the requested link resourceand information on unused portions of the per-hop QoS parameterassociated with the data packets. A data packet transmitter is furtherincluded in each node. This transmitter is responsive to a schedulingdecision from the data packet scheduler on a schedule for transmissionof the data packets in the data queues along the multi-hop path andfetching the data packets from the data queues based on the schedule totransmit the fetched data packets to the next downstream node along themulti-hop path.

In yet another aspect, a method for enhancing quality of service (QoS)in a multi-hop communication network under a distributed schedulingincludes determining unused portions of per-hop QoS metric values intransmitting data in nodes of a multi-hop path; communicatinginformation on unused portions of per-hop QoS metric values intransmitting data obtained at one node to the next downstream node alongthe multi-hop path; and allowing at least part of the unused portions ofper-hop QoS metric values to be used by the next downstream node in datatransmission to enhance QoS in the multi-hop path.

Additional aspects include a method to allow unused portions of per-hopQoS metric values to be communicated to and used by the next node alonga multi-hop packet forwarding path between a source node of a ProtocolData Unit (PDU) to its destination node. This method may include anin-band signaling that contains the values of any unused portions ofapplicable per-hop QoS metrics, such as delay, or a PDU being forwarded.This method may include calculation of unused portions of applicable QoSmetric values supported by the in-band signaling after the PDU isscheduled for transmission. Adding information on the values of anyunused portions of applicable per-hop QoS metrics as in-band signalingto the PDU may be made after the PDU has been scheduled for transmissionand before the PDU is sent to the next node along the path. This methodmay include using an intermediate forwarding node to receive the in-bandsignaling in a PDU from an upstream node and to calculate new values forthose QoS metrics with corresponding values contained in the in-bandsignaling for transmitting the PDU to a downstream node. In addition,the calculation of a new metric value for the PDU is in the range of theexisting assigned per-hop QoS metric value to the assigned per-hop QoSmetric value plus the corresponding headroom value in the receivedin-band signaling. The newly calculated metric values for the schedulingof the PDU for transmission are applied to the next node on the path.

These and other aspects, along with various associated technicalfeatures, are described in detail in the drawings, the description andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless relay access network.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary situation in the downlink tunnel fromthe base station to the mobile station in the network in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show examples of two different link resource controlconfigurations between adjacent network nodes.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for processing received QoSHeadroom information and the determination of availability of the QoSHeadroom to be communicated to the next forwarding node.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Techniques and systems described in this document provide path-based QoSwith distributed per-hop scheduling for carrying traffic over amulti-hop packet communication network, such as a wireless relay networkand a wired relay network. An example for such a wireless relay networkis a wireless communication network under IEEE 802.16. An example forsuch a wired relay network is a computer network of computers orcomputer servers. Such a multi-hop packet communication network caninclude nodes for forward packets in the network based on distributedper-hop scheduling and support parameterized per-hop QoS.

The following examples use wireless relay networks to illustratefeatures of the present techniques and systems for providing QoSmechanisms that enhance QoS in multi-hop packet forwardingcommunications.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless multi-hop relay access networkthat includes network elements such as base stations and relay stationsto wirelessly communicate with mobile stations. A relay station can befixed, nomadic or mobile. The wireless relay access network can beconfigured to support data transmission between BS and MS eitherdirectly or through one or more RSs. As an example, IEEE 802.16j definesan air interface standard for a wireless relay access network based onOFDMA technology and this air interface can be implemented in thenetwork in FIG. 1.

The exemplary network in FIG. 1 is shown to include an access networkgateway 101 connected to base stations, such as two exemplary basestations BS1 102 and BS2 110, to control the operations of the basestations and to provide a gateway to other networks such as one or moreIP networks, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and others.Relay stations (e.g., RS1, RS2 and RS3) that are subordinate to theirrespective base stations are also provided in this network to expand theradio coverage of certain base stations. Mobile stations (e.g., MS1-MS6)can access the network by directly wirelessly accessing a base station(e.g., MS1 and MS4) or by wirelessly accessing one or more relaystations connected to the base station (e.g., MS3 and MS6). Notably, therelay stations RS2 120 and RS3 130 are connected to the gateway 101 viathe base station BS2 110 and thus form a multi-hop path for a mobilestation (e.g., MS6) accessing the relay station 130. The QoS in such amulti-hop path, either from the mobile station MS6 to the base stationBS2110 (i.e., the uplink for MS6) or from the base station BS2 110 tothe mobile station MS6 (i.e., the downlink for MS6), can be enhanced byimplementing QoS monitoring and controlling of one or more QoS metricsat each node in the multi-hop path under a distributed schedulingscheme.

In the network in FIG. 1, traffic store and forwarding occur at eachintermediate RS on a multi-hop relay path. Required support for QoSwithin the wireless network means that QoS forwarding occurs at eachhop. QoS traffic scheduling can be centralized (e.g. at the BS) ordistributed at each of the RSs. Required QoS is generally on anend-to-end basis, which implies that QoS based on path metrics is mostappropriate. Path-based QoS can be achieved with centralized schedulingbecause the centralized scheduler controls QoS behavior at each hop inthe path in order to satisfy the path requirements. However, thecentralized scheduling does not scale well to larger networks withlonger paths. This is in part due to the high signaling overhead (toprovide schedule control to each of the nodes being controlled) andscheduling delays caused by signaling delays to provide control to nodesover multiple hops.

Distributed traffic scheduling can be implemented in the multi-hopnetwork like the wireless network example in FIG. 1 or in otherconfigurations to provide more efficient and timely scheduling of thetraffic in a larger network with multiple hops. The distributedscheduling can be designed in a way that each forwarding node can beassigned QoS metrics to satisfy for each traffic stream on the immediatehop(s) onto which the forwarding node controls the transmission oftraffic. Due to the required translation of intrinsic path metrics to aseries of per-hop metrics, some metrics end up being more constrained ona per-hop basis than if the metric were applied on a path basis. Oneexample of this type of QoS metric is traffic delay, where the allowedpath delay needs to be subdivided to a number of per-hop delays—eachscheduler on the path ends up with perhaps a tighter delay constraint tosatisfy than if it had some knowledge of the path delay budget remainingunused.

Path metric allocation to per-hop metric for distributed scheduling can,in one implementation, include the following features. For QoS metricsthat are cumulative over hops of a multi-hop path, the path metric canbe subdivided into per-hop metrics which are assigned to each hop. Inthis regard, the traffic delay is a commonly occurring cumulative QoSmetric. Usually allocation of values for per-hop metrics from pathmetric is done by a centralized management entity with the knowledge ofnetwork topology and QoS requirements for traffic traversing thenetwork. Once allocated, each hop schedules packet forwarding accordingto the value of the metric that has been assigned to it and cannot takeadvantage of unused permissible delay from one or more upstream hopswhich do not fully utilize their allocations of the metric (e.g. for aparticular packet being sent, one or more hops may have been able toschedule this packet earlier than their allotted maximum per-hop delay).This inability to use the slack in a QoS metric of another hop along thepath doesn't allow the total allowance for the metric along the path tobe fully exploited, which can result in loss of capacity along the path.

In recognition of the above and other technical issues, implementationsof a QoS mechanism are provided in this document to allow cumulative QoSmetrics along a multi-hop communication path comprising multiple hops tobe more effectively utilized while minimizing the signaling overhead.Such QoS mechanism can be configured to allow unused portions ofcumulative metrics of a node along the communications path to be madeavailable to nodes further along the path to the destination and tosupport the communication of these unused portions of cumulative metricswhile minimizing the signaling overhead.

As a specific example, consider the multi-hop relay path between the BS2110 and the mobile station MS 6 as shown in FIG. 1. As a prerequisite,assume each RS node on the path has been configured to provide a certainQoS for Protocol Data Units (PDUs) belonging to a given stream oftraffic. The QoS parameters include those which are cumulative along thepath, such as the maximum delay for the path. For such cumulative QoSparameter, each RS has been apportioned a part of the total value of theparameter for the path to be used as its governing per-hop value forthat metric. The examples below use the maximum delay of a multi-hoppath as one example for the cumulative QoS metric. The techniques andsystems for enhancing QoS described in this document can be applied to adifferent QoS metric which is or tends to be cumulative along the path.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary situation in the downlink tunnel fromthe base station BS2 110 to the mobile station MS6 that accesses therelay station RS3 130 in the network in FIG. 1. The DL tunnel T isestablished from the multi-hop base station MR-BS 110 to the relaystation RS3 130 through the intermediate relay station RS2 120 and isused to carry downlink data traffic from BS 110 to MS6. Consider aspecific example where the maximum latency for this tunnel is 100 ms andMR-BS 110 has up to 40 ms to perform its scheduling and allocates adelay up to 35 ms to the immediate relay station RS 120 and a delay upto 25 ms to the relay station RS 130 based on the path topology and thecurrent loading. If MR-BS 110 performs scheduling for the relay link toRS 120 and MR-BS 110 transmits the relay MAC PDU in only 20 ms, prior tothe latency deadline of 40 ms, the MR-BS 110 has a 20-ms unused delay oran extra “headroom.” This unused delay or headroom can be distributed todownstream nodes.

As an example, the MR-BS 110 can attach a special subheader “QoSHeadroom extended subheader” to relay MAC PDU before transmitting to RS120 with the value of the headroom set to 20 ms. When RS 120 receivesthe relay MAC PDU, RS 120 may add the extra 20-ms headroom from MR-BS110 to its total allowed latency at this time (35 ms). RS 120 maydetermine the amount of headroom can be used by itself based on otherQoS constrains such as the jitter. If RS 120 adds the entire headroom of20 ms received from the MR-BS 110 to its allowed latency, the RS 120 nowneeds to schedule the relay MAC PDU within 55 ms instead of 35 ms. Thesame operations can be repeated at downstream nodes, e.g., RS 120 and RS130 in this example where RS 130 can receive the headroom from RS 120.Hence, if RS 120 does not use up the 55-ms headroom, it can inform thedownstream relay station RS 130 and RS 130 can use this extra headroomin scheduling its transmission to the mobile station MS 6.

The above example in FIG. 2 is a specific example of a path QoSmanagement based on per-hop QoS scheduling. A subheader is provided inthe PDU to communicate information on availability of additionalallocation of a QoS metric value that is not used by one or moreupstream nodes (the QoS Headroom). Various aspects of this path QoSmanagement based on per-hop QoS scheduling are now described.

One technical issue associated with the QoS is link resource allocationin the distributed scheduling in a multi-hop path. FIGS. 3 and 4 showexamples of two different link resource control configurations betweenadjacent network nodes (RSs or BSs).

FIG. 3 shows an example of the first link resource control configurationas an Autonomous Store-and-Forward node in which the transmitting nodeis in an autonomous mode that fully controls the resource allocationsand the timing of transmissions on the link. An example of thisautonomous mode of link resource control is in the downlink directionfrom the BS 110 to MS6 in the wireless relay network of FIG. 1. As shownin FIG. 3, a base station or relay station in this autonomous modeincludes data queues such as PDU queue units to receive PDUs, a datapacket scheduler such as a PDU scheduler that controls and schedules thetransmission of data packets in the data queues, a link resourceallocator that allocates link resource for the PDU transmission perrequest from the PDU scheduler and a PDU transmitter under control ofthe PDU scheduler to fetch PDUs in the queues to transmit per the localscheduling. These modules can be implemented as hardware circuits orsoftware modules.

In operation, a PDU is received from the incoming link into theAutonomous Store-and-Forward node and the received PDU may include QoSHeadroom information from the upstream node. The QoS Headroominformation, if present, is extracted and processed upon reception bythe PDU queues. The PDU queues use QoS Headroom information to updatethe relevant cumulative QoS metric. PDUs are associated with aparticular PDU queue by virtue of sharing a common set of QoS metricrequirements, such as belonging to the same connection. This updated QoSmetric value in the PDU is now associated with the PDU as it is placedin its associated PDU queue awaiting transmission. Next, the PDUScheduler makes decisions about the order in which PDU Queues areserviced for transmission and the available link resource that will beused to transmit a particular PDU. In making these scheduling decisions,the PDU Scheduler reads the QoS metric information associated with eachPDU at the head of each PDU queue.

Based on the amount of information that needs to be transmitted for eachPDU, the PDU Scheduler makes a request for sufficient link resources onthe transmission link and sends this request to the link resourceallocator. Upon receiving the request, the Link Resource Allocatorfulfills the request for link resources based on the link availabilityand conditions and provides the PDU Scheduler with a link resourceallocation of sufficient size at earliest availability. After receivingthe link resource allocation, the PDU Scheduler instructs the PDUTransmitter to select the PDU at the head of a particular PDU Queue tobe transmitted at a particular time by using particular transmissionlink resources at that time. When instructing the PDU Transmitter, thePDU Scheduler has sufficient information to determine whether the QoSHeadroom remains for the PDU and if so, instructs the PDU Transmitter toadd the QoS Headroom information to the PDU before the PDU is sent tothe next store-and-forward node on the transmission path.

For each Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that traverses the path in thedownlink direction (i.e. from BS to MS), each forwarding node (i.e. RSor BS) can track the delay of the PDU, the time PDU received by the RSor BS until the time PDU is transmitted from the node to the next node.Upon receiving the PDU from the upstream node, RS may have also receivedin-band signaling attached to the PDU, i.e. part of PDU header orsubheader, containing the cumulated headroom in path delay due toupstream nodes along the path. If no such in-band signaling is attached,RS assumes that there is no extra headroom available from the upstreamnodes. If such in-band signaling is attached, the RS applies thatheadroom to adjust the value of the QoS metric for that PDU.

Next, the PDU scheduler in the RS determines whether the availableheadroom from upstream can be fully exploited by the node. The decisioncan depend on whether this QoS metric is further constrained by anotherrelated QoS metric (for example, the maximum setting of delay metric maybe constrained by the allowable jitter to avoid large variation in delayfor PDUs in this stream). When PDU is transmitted, the PDU scheduler inthe RS or BS determines whether there is any remaining headroom to beconveyed downstream. In one implementation, this assessment may beperformed only if the next node on the path is not the final destinationof the PDU (e.g. the MS). If the headroom is available and the amount ofthe headroom is compared to a headroom threshold that is set as a lowerlimit of the usable amount of the headroom. If the headroom is at orexceeds the headroom threshold, the PDU transmitter in the RS can appendin-band signaling containing the remaining headroom information to thePDU so that this headroom can be used by the next downstream forwardingnode. If not, then no such in-band signaling is added.

The above procedure can be applied at the BS and at each intermediate RSin the downlink forwarding path from BS to MS.

FIG. 4 shows the second link resource control configuration in which theallocation of resources on the link is performed by a separate networknode from the transmitting node. This type of link resource controlconfiguration can be used in a centrally controlled multiple accessscheme, such as in the uplink direction (i.e. from MS to BS) in thewireless relay network of FIG. 1. In this uplink direction, the resourceallocations for transmissions from a downstream node to the nextupstream node are controlled by the upstream node. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the transmitting node in this configuration is different fromthe node in FIG. 3 in that the link resource allocator is in a separatenode while other modules remain the same. The operation of theResource-controlled Store-and-Forward Configuration of FIG. 4 isidentical to that of the Autonomous Store-and-Forward Configuration ofFIG. 4 with the exception that the Link Resource Allocator resides in adifferent node from the Store-and-Forward node and therefore, the PDUScheduler needs to communicate with the separate node where the LinkResource Allocator for the transmission link resides in order to requestlink resources for the PDU transmissions.

Hence, for each Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that traverses the path in theuplink direction (i.e. from MS to BS), each forwarding node (i.e. RS)can track the delay of the PDU, the time PDU received by the RS untilthe time PDU is transmitted from the node. Upon receiving the PDU fromthe downstream node, RS may have also received in-band signalingattached to the PDU, i.e. part of PDU header or subheader, containingthe cumulated headroom in path delay due to downstream nodes along thepath. If no such in-band signaling is attached, RS assumes that there isno extra headroom available from the downstream nodes. If such in-bandsignaling is attached, the RS applies that headroom to adjust the valueof the QoS metric for that PDU.

Next, the PDU scheduler in the RS determines whether the availableheadroom from downstream can be fully exploited by the node. Thedecision can depend on whether this QoS metric is further constrained byanother related QoS metric (for example, the maximum setting of delaymetric may be constrained by the allowable jitter to avoid largevariation in delay for PDUs in this stream). The PDU scheduler makestimely requests for link resources from the Link Resource Allocatorlocated in the next upstream node in order to satisfy the delay/jitterand bandwidth requirements of the queued PDUs. The PDU scheduler makesits scheduling decisions based on the resource allocations received fromthe Link Resource Allocator and the possibly updated QoS metrics of thePDUs queued and awaiting transmission upstream. When PDU is transmitted,the PDU scheduler in the RS or BS determines whether there is anyremaining headroom to be conveyed upstream. In one implementation; thisassessment may be performed only if the next node on the path is not thefinal destination of the PDU (e.g. the BS). If the headroom is availableand the amount of the headroom is compared to a headroom threshold thatis set as a lower limit of the usable amount of the headroom. If theheadroom is at or exceeds the headroom threshold, the PDU transmitter inthe RS can append in-band signaling containing the remaining headroominformation to the PDU so that this headroom can be used by the nextupstream forwarding node. If not, then no such in-band signaling isadded.

The above procedure can be applied at each RS in the uplink forwardingpath from MS to BS.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for processing received QoSHeadroom information and the determination of availability of the QoSHeadroom to be communicated to the next forwarding node.

The table below shows an example of QoS Headroom in-band signaling as anIEEE 802.16 MAC Extended Subheader that may be attached to a MAC PDU.

TABLE QoS Headroom extended subheader Size Name (byte) Description DelayHeadroom 1 Specify any additional allowance of delay for this realy MACPDU due to relay MAC PDU being scheduled ahead of its maximum latency atRS or BS further up on the path. In unit of frames

With respect to the in-band signaling, since the QoS headroom in-bandsignaling only deals with remainder values, the size of the numericrange can be made smaller than if absolute values were required. Becauseno in-band signaling is attached if no headroom is available for thenext downstream node, this technique can scale well with systemutilization. With heavier traffic load, it is less likely there will beremaining headroom available, hence, there will be less signalingoverhead due to the presence of the in-band signaling.

The following sections describe application of the above QoS techniquein the draft document IEEE 802.16j_D1. Under this draft, whendistributed scheduling is used, each RS performs bandwidth allocation ofits relay links and access link based on QoS requirements and channelconditions. In IEEE 802.16j_D1, each RS receives the end-to-end QoSparameters during transport connection set up using DSA-* signaling andreceives the update to the parameters using DSC-*. However, the end toend QoS parameters need to be translated into per-hop parameters toallow each RS to schedule effectively to ensure overall QoS performance.One example of this type of parameter is maximum latency, where theallowed latency needs to be subdivided to a number of per-hop latencies.The subdivision should be performed by MR-BS in a centralized fashionbased on factors such as topology and loading at each RS. And theper-hop QoS parameters should be sent to each RS along the path duringservice flow set up or modification (DSA/DSC).

Based on the above described QoS technique, the DSA/DSC messages underIEEE 802.16j_D1 can be modified to accommodate per hop QoS informationwhen distributed scheduling is used. An optional new extended subheadermay also be used with Relay MAC PDU to allow upstream RS informingdownstream RS of its unused option of delay constraint.

The subdivision of values for per-RS QoS metrics is usually done by acentralized management entity, such as MR-BS or other functional entity,with knowledge of network topology and QoS requirements for traffictraversing the network. When the subdivision of QoS parameters areperformed, the RS has to schedule each packets based on the allottedportion of QoS metrics as they are set by MR-BS in DSA/DSC message.However, with the pre-allocation of per-RS QoS metrics, the RS cannottake advantage if other RSs (the upstream ones) do not fully utilizetheir allocations of the metric (e.g. for a particular packet beingsent, one or more RSs may have been able to schedule this packet earlierthan their allotted maximum per-RS delay). This inability to use the‘slack’ in a QoS metric of another RS along the path doesn't allow thetotal allowance for the metric along the path to be fully exploited,which can result in loss of capacity along the path.

-   -   Therefore, the draft for IEEE 802.16j_D1 can be modified based        the present QoS technique to add a per-hop QoS TLV in DSA/DSC        message to address the QoS issue in the distributed scheduling        in multi-hop paths. The text in section 6.3.14.9 can be modified        accordingly to accommodate the addition. As an optional feature,        a new extended subheader, QoS Headroom extended subheader, is        added to the relay MAC PDU. This is to allow full use of the end        to end maximum latency when per-RS maximum latency is set at        service flow creation. The QoS Headroom extended subheader can        be attached to a relay MAC PDU by a RS or MR-BS to indicate to        its downstream RS how much headroom the downstream RS can be        added to its maximum latency for scheduling purpose. QoS        Headroom extended subheader can be attached to DL relay MAC PDU.        The MR-BS and RS may attach that to each relay MAC PDU based on        its scheduling result. The use of QoS Headroom extended        subheader can support full use of the end to end maximum latency        when per-RS latency is set at service flow creation and        adaptively adjust to loading changes without needing to        re-engineer the per-RS QoS metrics.        The proposed changes to the relevant sections in the draft for        IEEE 802.16j_D1 are provided below.

[Insert section 6.3.2.2.7, page 17, line 40]

6.3.2.2.7 Extended Subheader Format

TABLE 27 Description of extended subheaders types (DL) Extended Extendedsubheader body subheader type Name size (byte) Description 6 QoSHeadroom 1 See 6.3.2.2.7.9 extended subheader 7-127 Reserved — —

[Insert section new 6.3.2.2.7.9, following the above change]

6.3.2.2.7.9 QoS Headroom Extended Subheader

QoS Headroom extended subheader may only be included with relay MACPDUs. A MR-BS or RS may include a QoS Headroom extended subheader whenforwarding a relay MAC PDU. If the extended subheader is included, itshall contain the Delay Headroom for the relay MAC PDU of the MR-BS orRS. The Delay Headroom is defined as the delta between maximum latencyat the MR-BS or RS and the actual scheduling delay of the relay MAC PDU.When a RS receives an QoS Headroom extended subheader, it mayrecalculate the maximum latency for the relay MAC PDU at the RS byadding the entire or partial of delay headroom to the maximum latency ofthe tunnel. If no QoS Headroom extended subheader is received with arelay MAC PDU, the RS shall assume there is no delay headroom available.

The support of QoS Headroom extended subheader is optional and shall benegotiated between the BS and the MS as part of the registration dialog(REG-REQ/RSP).

TABLE xx QoS Headroom extended subheader Size Name (byte) DescriptionDelay Headroom 1 Specify any additional allowance of delay for thisreally MAC PDU due to relay MAC PDU being scheduled ahead of its maximumlatency at RS or BS further up on the path. In unit of frames

[Insert the following paragraph to section 6.3.14.9.3.1, page 122, line55]

6.3.14.9.3.1 SS-Initiated DSA

-   -   If the service flow is not mapped to a tunnel, the MR-BS may        send a DSA-REQ using the requested service flow parameter to all        the RS on the path to obtain admission control decision. The CID        in the service flow parameter should be the CID of the        individual service flow.    -   The MR-BS may include Per-RS QoS TLV in DSC-REQ to RS. If RS        receives Per-RS QoS TLV, RS shall use values in Per-RS QoS TLV        instead of the corresponding ones for the service flow.

[Insert the following paragraph to section 6.3.14.9.4.1, page 123, line53]

6.3.14.9.4.1 SS-Initiated DSC

In MR network with distributed scheduling, before admitting the changesand sending DSC-RSP to the requesting station which could be an MS orRS, the MR-BS shall send DSC-REQ to all the RSs on the path to requestfor admission control decisions. The MR-BS may include Per-RS QoS TIN inDSC-REQ to RS. If RS receives Per-RS QoS TLV, RS shall use values inPer-RS QoS TLV instead of the corresponding ones for the service flow.If the service flow is mapped to a tunnel, the CID in the service flowparameter should be the tunnel CID; otherwise, the CID for the serviceflow is included. Such DSCREQ is first sent from MR-BS to itssubordinate RS using its primary management CID.

[Insert the following paragraph to section 6.3.14.9.4.2, page 124, line31]

6.3.14.9.4.2 BS-Initiated DSC

In MR network with distributed scheduling, before MR-BS sending DSC-REQto an MS or RS to modify an existing service flow, the MR-BS may firstsend DSC-REQ to all the RSs on the path to request for admission controldecision. The MR-BS may include Per-RS QoS TLV in DSC-REQ to RS. If RSreceives Per-RS QoS TLV, RS shall use values in Per-RS QoS TLV insteadof the corresponding ones for the service flow. Such DSC-REQ is firstsent from MR-BS to its subordinate RS using its primary management CID.If the RS' resource condition cannot support the requested SF parameter,it updates the SF parameter with the one it can support.

[Insert the following section 11.13.38, page 124, line 31]

11.13.38 Per-RS QoS

Type Length Name (1 byte) (1 byte) Value Scope Per-RS QoS TBD VariableCompound DSA-REQ/RSP DSC-REQ/RSP

The following TLV values shall appear in each Per-RS QoS TLV

Type Length Name (1 byte) (1 byte) Value RS Basic CID TBD VariableCompound Maximum Latency for the RS TBD 4 Milliseconds

While this document contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of an invention or of what may beclaimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particularembodiments of the invention. Certain features that are described inthis document in the context of separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some casesbe excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or a variation of a subcombination.

Only a few implementations are disclosed. However, it is understood thatvariations and enhancements of the described implementations and otherimplementations can be made based on what is described and illustrated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for enhancing quality of service (QoS)in a multi-hop communication network under a distributed scheduling,comprising: determining unused portions of per-hop QoS metric values intransmitting data in nodes of a multi-hop path; communicatinginformation on unused portions of per-hop QoS metric values intransmitting data obtained at one node to the next downstream node alongthe multi-hop path; and allowing at least part of the unused portions ofper-hop QoS metric values to be used by the next downstream node in datatransmission to enhance QoS in the multi-hop path.
 2. The method as inclaim 1, comprising: providing an in-band signaling to the nextdownstream node that contains values of the unused portions of per-hopQoS metrics to communicate the information on the unused portions ofper-hop QoS metric values.
 3. The method as in claim 1, wherein: theper-hop QoS metrics are cumulative along the multi-hop path.
 4. Themethod as in claim 3, wherein: the per-hop QoS metrics are delaysincurred at nodes.
 5. The method as in claim 1, comprising: after a dataunit is scheduled for transmission, determining whether a unused portionof a per-hop QoS metric value associated with the data unit is equal toor exceeds a threshold; and communicating information on the unusedportion of the per-hop QoS metric value to the next downstream node onlywhen the unused portion of QoS metric value is equal to or exceeds thethreshold.
 6. The method as in claim 5, comprising: after determiningthat the unused portion of the per-hop QoS metric value associated withthe data unit is equal to or exceeds the threshold, adding to the dataunit an in-band signaling containing the information on the unusedportion of the per-hop QoS metric value associated with the data unitbefore transmission of the data unit to the next downstream node.
 7. Themethod as in claim 6, comprising: operating the next downstream node toadd the unused portion of the per-hop QoS metric value received in thein-band signaling from the upstream node to a pre-assigned value for theper-hop QoS metric value to produce a new value for the per-hop QoSmetric value; and using the new value for the per-hop QoS metric valueto schedule transmission of the associated data unit by the nextdownstream node to a subsequent downstream node in the multi-hop path.8. A multi-hop communication network for forwarding data packets under adistributed scheduling, comprising: communication nodes linked toforward data packets from one node to another node under a distributedscheduling, wherein each node comprises: data queues that receive andstore data packets from a upstream node along a multi-hop path, eachdata queue to process a received data packet to extract information on aunused portion of a per-hop quality of service (QoS) parameterindicating QoS of the multi-hop path; a data packet scheduler that readsthe information on each unused portion of the per-hop QoS parameter,requests link resource for transmission the data packets in the dataqueues, schedules transmission of the data packets based on availabilityof the requested link resource and information on unused portions of theper-hop QoS parameter associated with the data packets, a data packettransmitter responsive to a scheduling decision from the data packetscheduler on a schedule for transmission of the data packets in the dataqueues along the multi-hop path and fetching the data packets from thedata queues base don the schedule to transmit the fetched data packetsto the next downstream node along the multi-hop path.
 9. The network asin claim 8, wherein: the nodes are base stations and relay stations forwireless communications.
 10. The network as in claim 9, wherein: thenodes are base station and relay stations under IEEE 802.16.
 11. Thenetwork as in claim 8, wherein: the nodes are computers or computerservers forming a computer network.
 12. The network as in claim 8,wherein: one of the nodes comprise a link resource allocator thatallocates link resource in response to requests from the data packetscheduler for link resource for transmitting the data packets in thedata queues to the next downstream node along the multi-hop path. 13.The network as in claim 8, wherein: the data packet scheduler in one ofthe nodes requests from another node for link resource for transmittingthe data packets in the data queues to the next downstream node alongthe multi-hop path.
 14. A method for enhancing quality of service (QoS)in a multi-hop communication network under a distributed scheduling,comprising: determining a unused portion of a delay in transmitting eachof data packets at nodes of a multi-hop path; attaching to the datapackets information on unused portions of delays in transmitting thedata packets obtained at one node to transmit both the data packets andthe information on the unused portions of delays to the next downstreamnode along the multi-hop path; and scheduling transmission of the datapackets in the next downstream node further along the multi-hop pathbased on the unused portions of delays that are respectively associatedwith the data packets, wherein an amount of delay for transmitting adata packet is extended by a respective received unused portion of delayassociated with the data packet.
 15. The method as in claim 14,comprising: adding an in-band signaling that contains a value of theunused portion of delay to an associated data packet to be transmittedto transmit both the in-band signaling and the associated data packet tothe next downstream node.
 16. The method as in claim 15, comprising:after a data packet is scheduled for transmission, determining whether aunused portion of delay associated with the data packet is equal to orexceeds a threshold; and adding the in-band signaling only when theunused portion of delay is equal to or exceeds the threshold.